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Free Reads!

I have a few short stories available for free, most of them were in short term anthologies here and there. If I ever get to writing all the background scenes that never make it into a book you'll find them here as well. :)

Kiss of Ice

Alice loves life as a geothermal engineer, searching the globe for her next adrenaline thrill. Falling down a crevice into a glacier and finding a frozen Viking of a man was an adventure she never saw coming.

Erik pissed off the wrong witch and she cursed him. Every living thing he touches…freezes. His only escape was to hide away and hope the curse died with the witch. The gorgeous woman who finds him is everything he’s ever craved, but he can never have.

Can Alice and Erik learn how to break the curse before it’s too late or will the ice freeze their chance for love?

This was an excerpt into a series idea that is still rolling around in my subconscious. If you like it let me know. :) Nagging often works when I need to focus on things. LoL

All Chrysta had been
looking for was help after her piece of crap car broken down on a quiet road in
the Rockies. The dim lights she’d spotted down a long drive held the promise of
a warm room and phone.

Never in a million
years did she expect to see a room filled with weapons, but it was what
happened behind the building that sends her fleeing into the night…

~~~

Branches caught and pulled at the arms of Chrysta’s sweater
as she ran through the underbrush. The moon hung full and bright in the sky
giving her a bit of light to navigate her panicked race through the woods.
Hiding was out of the question, she had to get out of here. Branches snapped
and the dried underbrush crushing under her feet echoed in the silence around
her. The racket from her escape would wake the dead in it intensity but she
couldn’t stop.

Vivid images of what she’d seen continually flashed through
her memory. The sound of human bones snapping and reshaping as they undulated
beneath skin that had stretched to the point of tearing. All of it had her frozen in shock, but the
intense heat from the fire is what got her moving. Everyone knew about the unexplained forest
fires the last few years, rumours of lightning strikes and careless campers being
the cause, but she knew the truth.

She’d recognised them all from town. The men often came into
her diner for dinner over the past couple weeks. Sometimes they all sat
together, but two of them always sat in her section. Scorch and Griffin,
strange nicknames and she’d never heard any of them use a traditional name when
speaking to each other. They were always respectful and tipped well.
Breathtakingly gorgeous, with muscles on muscles and a quiet, dangerous
intensity that always affected the crowd around them. No one had ever commented
on her shaking hands while she poured their coffee or occasionally spilled pop
on the table when she brought their orders over to them. Instead they’d smile
and her chest would clench as her hormones would get up and dance.

Her foot caught on a branch, ripping her from her thoughts
as the world lurched in a sickening twist driving her towards the ground.

A split second before slamming into the ground, thick
muscular arms wrapped around her, “Got’cha.”

The world spun again as she was placed back on her feet.
Gripping handfuls of his t-shirt, her heartbeat echoing in her throat, she
looked up at the man who’d caught her. His eyes looked black in the darkness,
but she could recognize him anywhere. She’d never been this close to him, other
than the odd time he and Griffin passed by her as they left the diner. Desire
pulsed through her body, coating her nerves and smothering her fear.

A heavy thump of wings created a wind that whipped her hair
into her face and she braced for an attack. When nothing more happened she
looked up but, the creature that caused it disappeared against the black
sky.

“What are you doing out in the woods, Chrysta?” Scorch
brushed back her hair with one hand, the other lay like a hot brand against her
lower back. She stared at his jaw, fighting
the inappropriate urge to run her tongue along the strong line. “Spying?”

“N-n-n-no.” It was hard to try to speak as she panted, but
looking up into his black gaze, the languid calm washed over her again. “My car
broke down, back there. I was looking for a phone.”

“Why don’t you carry a cell?”

“We’re in a dead zone. No signal for miles because of the
mountains.”

Scorch muttered a curse under his breath, “That’s why they’re
holed up here.” He stared over her head, scanning the darkness as if he could
really see through the night.

“Who?”

He blinked and she found herself the focus of his dark gaze
again. “Doesn’t matter, what does matter is you being here now.”

“My car really broke down.” She waved a hand in the general
area to her left. “I’ll show you and then I’ll go.”

Scorch shook his head, “No. You’re finally where you belong.
I’m not letting you go.” He cupped his hand along one side of her jaw,
preventing her from looking down. “Besides, you have a terrible sense of
direction. Your car is the other way.”

“What do you want me to do?” Her heart pounded against her
chest and her panting hadn’t eased but now it had everything to do with the man
holding her. How many times had she fantasied about him and his friend,
Griffin, stretched out in her small twin bed in her tiny apartment in town?

Scorch lowered his head, closing the distance between them.
“I want you to say…Yes.”

There wasn’t any point asking to what, the gleam in his eye was obvious. Her base fears were
obliterated under the soul deep assurance that this man could and would keep
her safe. Her rational side wasn’t as easily convinced. It’s
nuts. This is a bad idea. Knee him in the nuts and run.

“Yes.” She whispered
the word so quietly that when he froze for a moment she wasn’t sure she’d actually
said it.

A heartbeat later he closed the distance between them and
plundered her mouth. Lips softer than any man had a right to slid against hers
igniting her fantasies and waking a voracious hunger she never knew existed
inside of her. It swamped over her senses, desire pulsed against her senses
demanding to be fed its due. She made tight needy noises in the back of her
throat and tugged the back of his shirt out of his pants. The need to feel his
skin under her palms overrode any logical nonsense. She needed
to touch him, a craving so strong the world might be obliterated if she
didn’t touch him.

“Yes, I’m all yours.” He whispered against her lips,
breaking their kiss long enough to get his shirt over his head.

She danced her fingers over the line delineating his
muscles, sliding over abs that she could easily do laundry on and back up his
sides. Every inch of him felt like a coiled spring quivering to attack, but he
touched her like a delicate flower.

Another wave of warmth cloaked her back, a heartbeat before
she felt hands wrap around her shoulders. “I’m all yours too, Chrysta.” She
turned as best she could and glanced behind her, unsurprised to see Griffin
standing there. He and Scorch were always together. His jeans hung low on his
hips, button undone, and his chest bare.
They were built the same, layers of powerful muscles, black hair and
dark eyes but Griffin’s hair was longer and he often kept it tied back at the
base of his neck. Tonight the soft breeze lifted some strands up to float around
his face.

Her brain tried to explain what she’d seen earlier and
create a logical explanation. Other than someone slipping her a massive dose of
a hallucinogen before she left work, nothing else came to mind. “I saw…you’re…you’re
both a…” the thought was so foreign she couldn’t complete it.

“Yes,” Griffin answered, catching both her sweater and
t-shirt he lifted both of them over her head in a quick swipe. “But, we’d never
hurt you.”

Heated longing for them coursed through her veins but hadn’t
completely obliterated her sense of self-preservation. “How do I know for
sure?”

“Because, you’re meant to be ours,” Scorch’s hands felt hot
against her skin. He stroked her over her rib cage and up under her breasts,
his thumbs sliding along the underwire of her bra. “We’ve known it since the
moment we walked into your diner. “

“This might rank at the top of the list of bad timing, but I
can’t keep my hands off you. Not now.” Griffin pressed a line of kisses along
her neck to her shoulder, his hands rested on her hips, flexing as he held her.

She looked up at Scorch, “Because, I saw what you are?”

“Partly, but also because we’re selfish, impatient bastards
who want you safe,” his fingers traced the lower edge of her bra and had it
unhooked a scant moment later.

She wished she could see his expression clearer but the
moonlight simply enhanced the angles of his features. “Safe from who?” she
asked.

“Everything” Scorch dropped to his knees in front of her,
lifting his face to nuzzle the underside of her breasts.

“Anything” Her bra
straps rode Griffin’s fingers as he caressed her arms from shoulder to
wrist.

The air had felt cold and ominous before, now heat blazed
against her skin calling out to a deep vibrant lust churning inside her. Scorch
flicked his tongue against her navel, as Griffin cupped her breasts the
sensation melted into her feeding the craving that demanded more. The situation
started to feel so surreal; she doubted the reality of it all.

Men who shape shifted into dragons, mysterious shacks filled
with weapons, sex in the middle of a forest with the men she’d be lusting after
at work. “It’s a dream.”

“Nope, it’s real.” Griffin kneaded her breasts with his
fingers, teasing her nipples into tight nubs while pressing open mouth kisses
against her neck. “Not the best timing but I can’t wait any longer.”

Scorch undid the button on her capris and she felt the
material drop down her legs. She reached down to grab his hair, as if to stop
him, but the moment he pressed his mouth against her panties and breathed hot
air through them a deep craving roared to life and all thoughts of stopping him
were long gone. She arched her back,
pressing her shoulders against Griffin and gripped Scorch’s short black hair as
best she could. She heart the soft tear of fabric and then his mouth was on
her, his tongue spearing between her folds.

“There we go, now you feel it don’t you.” Griffin whispered
in her ear like a devil on her shoulder. “The hunger, the need for us, you
finally stopped questioning and holding back. Let us take care of you.”

“But, but,” she wanted to say it was too soon, too fast, but
Scorch flicked his tongue around her clit and right in that moment she didn’t
give a damn about anything. All she wanted and desperately needed was more.

“Take it all, Chrysta. Be selfish, don’t let Scorch get
lazy.” A firm pinch to her nipple punctuated his words, the bite of his fingers
shot electrified tingles straight to her pussy. She kicked off her shoes and
let Scorch lead one leg to his shoulder, opening her to his view.

His large hands were wrapped tightly around her thighs, as his
tongue made lazy circles around her clit. The demand for faster, harder, more sat on the tip of her tongue.

She rocked her hips against Scorch’s face, her arms wrapped
back around Griffin’s neck as she stretched out her body, loving the languid
arousal he created. Griffin supported her body as Scorch slide his hands up her
inner thighs to the top. She held her breath as he teased her with little
touches around her pussy and vaginal entrance.

“Scorch,” she ground out between her teeth.

“Tell him what you want,” the large devil currently nipping
at her shoulder whispered.

“I need more, please touch me, faster, make me come.”

He moaned against her pussy and trapped her clit between his
lips and flicked it mercilessly with his tongue. Chrysta thought she would lose
her mind at the divine pleasure but his fingers eclipsed the sensation when he
pushed one inside of her.

Her body clamped down on the digit, the invasion was a rare
occurrence but the voracious craving slammed against her senses. More I...We want more. For a second she felt as though that
thought hadn’t been her own, but Scorch pushed a second finger inside of her
and all her concerns melted under the incredible heat that burned through
her torso. He pumped his fingers and she
rocked her body in counterpoint. With one hand still gripping Griffin’s neck
she reached down and gripped Scorch’s head again. Pressing his mouth against
her body, she swirled her hips, chasing the incredible feeling building inside
of her. Scorch slipped his fingers up
her pussy and parted the puffy lips to bare her throbbing clit, continually
stroking it with a combination of flicks and swirls at an insane speed.

“God, yes. Fuck yes, more. More!” She demanded, echoing the
thoughts in her head. She’d never felt as powerful as she did right now.
Pressed between two men completely focused on her pleasure she selfishly took everything
they offered and demanded more.

“Give it to him.” Griffin’s deep voice pulled at her soul. The
orgasm she’d been chasing raced up on her, cresting over her sensations like a
fireball. It burned away the latent memory of any man who’d ever touched her
because what she’d felt was nothing compared to the intensity of this
moment.

Her entire body quivered with aftershocks and she couldn’t
stop the soft whimper that escaped her throat as Scorch slowly withdrew his
fingers.

“That just got you warmed up didn’t it?” Scorch stood up and
held her against his large body. Nuzzling her neck his whispered against her
ear, “Why don’t you ask Griffin what he has planned for you.”

Chrysta grinned at the playfulness. Any insecurity she might
harbor couldn’t survive under the intensity of how they made her feel. “What do you have for me, Griffin?”

“I’ve got the condom.”

Scorch released his hold on her and Griffin spun her around.
Gripping her waist he lifted her up, sliding her soaked pussy against his abs
before lowering her down until the blunt tip of his cock rested at her
entrance. His cock felt like a hot baseball bat and she bounced slightly to get
him to lower her. Hooking her ankles around his back she locked her grip, “Yes,
do it.”

“Say it, Chrysta. I want to hear it, filthy and nasty.”

Fear clogged her throat for a moment but a layer of strength
that she’d never truly believed she had welled up, “Fuck me, Griffin. Slam your
cock in me, Right now.”

“You’re a badass,” Scorch smacked one of her butt cheeks
where Griffin wasn’t holding on.

“That’s what I like to hear. Demands,” Griffin lowered her
in short bounces, his cock stretched her vaginal muscles to the point of pain
but it didn’t satisfy her craving.

“Stop teasing me with your cock, Griffin or I’m going to get
Scorch to get me off again.”

Griffin clenched his teeth and pushed, filling her up with
one long persistent stroke. Chrysta
arched her back, gasping for air as he invaded her. She felt every inch of him and
knew Scorch’s careful preparation had been for this. We want
both. It was as if the hunger had a mind of its own and the mental image of
being claimed by both men was enough to tip her over the edge again. She cried
out as Griffin shuttled in and out of her body.
He let her drop back and Scorch caught her in his arms as she shook.

“You’re right Scorch, look.” Griffin’s awed voice had her
opening her eyes.

She followed their gaze, shock slamming into her as she watched
lines appear on her chest, right over her heart. It looked like multiple people were drawing on
her at the same time, forming a complete image in her skin. Her skin prickled
but didn’t hurt and less than a minute later a stylized pair of dragons lay
over her heart. Both lay with their tails curled around their body, one eye
open as if they were guarding the treasure behind them.

“What the hell?” Panic iced her veins as Griffin pulled out
with a shudder. “What’s happening to me?”

“We need to get out of here, now.” Scorch stepped away from Chrysta
and for a split second she felt an overwhelming wave of disappointment wash
over her combined with confusion. Now
that you both got what you wanted…

Griffin’s arms wrapped around her and the emotion dissolved,
“Come on sweetheart, get dressed. I’d prefer a more romantic cuddle as well but
we need to get you somewhere safe.”

The sight of Scorch disappearing into the forest was blocked
by Griffin pressing her clothes into her hands. “What’s the rush?”

“Because, it’s harder to protect you out in the open like
this.”

She pulled on her clothes as Griffin passed them to her. When
she held out her hand for her panties, he grinned at her and shook his head.
“They didn’t survive.”

“What do I need to be
protected from?” Aside from the mischievous grin, Griffin was acting much more
nervous than she thought was necessary.

The moment she pulled her shoes on Griffin scooped her up
into his arms and lifted her up over his head in one swift motion, bracing one
hand on her butt and the other in the middle of her back. “We need to get you to a secure location.”

“What the hell!” She flailed her limbs looking for a more
secure grip. The deep thump of wings
commanded her attention and she looked up in time to see a massive black dragon
drop out of the sky toward her. “No! Help!”

Griffin tightened the grip on her clothes. “Chrysta, it’s
Scorch!”

Before she managed to let out the scream locked in her
throat, the obsidian dragon’s large back claws wrapped around her legs and its
front arms hugged her torso, pulling her up close to its belly. She expected a slippery,
fishy feel against her cheek but instead each scale felt soft and velvety.
Another massive thump of the dragon’s wings and Griffin dropped out from beneath
her.

“Don’t panic, I’ll be right behind you.”

… Watch for the release
of Rage of Dragons Mercs’ series in the future.